Irish Water has confirmed it is investing in on-going projects to tackle different risks to the water supply for the residents of Donegal, including €327 million to upgrade water supplies at risk from Trihalomethanes (THM).

The work follows on from publication by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the Remedial Action List (RAL) earlier this year. The  list is a public record for the supplies known to be at risk and where the EPA is requiring Irish Water to take corrective action. The EPA has instructed Irish Water to submit an action programme for the improvement of each of the supplies and has initiated enforcement action where action programmes were not being prepared or were not prepared to the satisfaction of the EPA. This includes issuing legally binding Directions requiring specific work to be carried out.

Irish Water said it has adopted a national Asset Management approach to drinking water safety which recognises the complex nature of the service and the need for an integrated programme involving investment, planned maintenance, and standard operation with appropriate automation and monitoring as necessary to upgrade water supplies in Ireland to international standards.

While ultimately requiring investment of over €2 billion in drinking water production and distribution by 2021, significant improvement is being achieved year on year by this approach, including in Donegal, according to the water company.

The RAL subdivides different risks to the water supply -  Irish Water said it is working hard in Donegal to bring those individual water supplies off the RAL and ensure a safe, secure and reliable water supply. There are currently no Donegal water schemes on boil water notices.

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Six supplies in Donegal also have elevated THM levels, which have been recorded as above the standard in the Drinking Water Regulations. THMs, or Trihalomethanes are chemicals formed by the reaction of naturally occurring dissolved organic material and chlorine which is used for disinfection in order to protect against pathogenic bacteria.

In Donegal 8,280 people are using water supplies where there are elevated levels of THMs. While works are taking place at the Cashilard water treatment plant, the long term solution is to replace the supply with the Ballyshannon water supply. In Creeslough the treatment plant is being upgraded, while the Fintown and Portnoon-Nairn sources will be abandoned and replaced with the Lettermacaward water supply. Both the Rathmullen and Greencastle sources will also be abandoned and replaced with Letterkenny and East Inishowen water supplies respectively.

Two other Donegal schemes which are on the RAL are Pettigo affecting 511 people and Gortahork-Falcarragh affecting 5,000 people. In the short term at Pettigo the disinfection system is being optimised while the long term plan is to replace the source with a Northern Ireland supply. In Gortahork-Falcarragh, where there are excessive levels of aluminium in the water an upgrade of the plant is required.

THMs levels in drinking water most often cited challenge on the RAL

Speaking about the RAL and the ongoing work in Donegal, Irish Water’s Head of Asset Management Sean Laffey said:

“Irish Water take the provision of high quality, safe and secure water for the people of Donegal very seriously. As a single utility we are able to adopt a single national best practice approach to assessing and managing water supplies for the benefit of the people of Donegal. The work Irish Water is undertaking in Donegal is based on the recommended World Health Organisation (WHO) approach to safe drinking water supply using a ‘source to tap’ risk based methodology which analyses risk rather than waiting for sampling failures. “

“The most often cited challenge on the RAL is the level of THMs in the drinking water. Irish Water has put in place the first national THM plan and a prioritised programme of investment to address all inadequacies in drinking water parameters including THMs. By 2021 we plan to reduce the number of schemes on the EPA Remedial Action List to zero with an investment of €327 million to upgrade water supplies at risk from THMs.”

“As a single utility Irish Water is able to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the performance of Ireland’s drinking water production plants and where serious compliance challenges are found we can tackle them more effectively and efficiently.”

Click here to download the Remedial Action List